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Published: April 21st 2008
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After leaving Boracay Island, I decided that I would visit Cebu next, and hopefully, hop in to a ferry and go to Bohol to see its famous Chocolate Hills. Going to Cebu from Boracay took a lot of courage and patience. It was a long and tiring journey. At Caticlan port, where a motorized boat from Boracay dropped me off together with the otherBoracay tourists, I was advised by a bus driver of an Iloilo-bound bus that the only way to get to Cebu was by way of Iloilo Iloilo city.From there,I would have to ride in a passenger ship that sails to to Cebu everyday. So I took a bus at the bus terminal in Caticlan,Aklan with Iloilo as my destination. The trip was a mixed bag of smooth and bumpy rides. There were portions of the national highway that were undergoing construction work; thich dust floated like fog along the road so that jeepneys and tricycles had to slow down due to low visibility. There were areas that we passed by with still-to-be- harvested sugar canes on both sides of the road that were covered with thick dust; the roofs of houses nearby were also covered with dust. Every now and then, our bus would meet trucks carrying harvested sugar canes. There must be a sugar-making factory somewhere in this part of Panay Island. Sometimes I wonder why it takes time for the public works department of the government to complete road projects in the island. My bus trip continued for some more hours. Twice, the bus stopped by at its established rest stops so passengers can take a rest and have a bite to eat. I sat with a nice lady at the front row seat and everytime she bought something to eat, she was gracious enough to offer me some of it. I had to decline the offer but I was touched by her kindness and courtesy. Sometimes, I would feel thirsty due to the hot weather that I believed I drank almost half-a-dozen bottles of water along the way. Hot weather is almost a daily occurrence in the Philippines starting in March up to third quarter of the year.Visitors to this country are therefore reminded to always take bottled water wherever they travel to relieve themselves of the effects of hot and humid weather. Sometimes, the hot weather contributes to the incovenience of the travel, But this should not be the case. For me, I always maintain a cool demeanor,always aware that no one can stop this hot weather from occurring. This is normal for a tropical country like the Philippines. At any rate, time is always the equalizer of things, and for all I know, the bus finally reached Iloilo and by a sequence of brief informal interviews with the "tourism experts" - the common folks - I was able to find the right jeepney going to the port of San Pedro where a passenger ship has a daily trip to Cebu. There was already a line forming at the ticket counter for the said ship outside the building,and I was able to purchase a ticket for the 6 p.m. trip. The ship pulled its anchor off Iloilo at around quarter to seven in the evening. We boarded one hour early, and for that one hour of waiting just standing at the deck of the ship, I was able to watch how some marine and agricultural products in Iloilo are transported to the ship: seafoods, watermelons, cavans of rice, fruits, etc. Indeed, I watched a minute portion of Philippine economy in action: how island-provinces take advantage of sea transports such as ships and ferries to conduct trade with each other. With the constructions of several sea ports in almost all island-provinces all over the country, the path to economic progress and prosperity is hereby assured. Furthermore, the establishment of economic trade zones, where giant corporations and industries use the country's ports and trade zones to move and market their products, help create jobs for the country and establish its strategic importance in world trade.
Some provinces have benefited from this economic scheme, specially the province of Cebu. When I visited this progressive province, I was thinking I was still in the MetroManila area. Cebu to me is just like MetroManila with its tall buildings, heavy flow of traffic, elegant hotels and restaurants, outdoor advertising almost as huge as the buildings. Every now then, you see massive constructions of hotels and business offices. In short, Cebu is one of the busy economic areas in Southern Philippines. It has a modern airport - called Mactan Cebu international airport - that can receive both domestic and international flights. Its economic trade zone - located in Mactan = is one of the busiest in the country. One thing that struck my fancy as I walked and rode in jeepneys and joined with the crowds of people as they go about with their daily lives, was the fact that they talked always in their native dialect as if there is no other dialect or language in the world. They will only talk to you in Tagalog or English if, when they talk to you in Cebuano and you cannot answer because you don't speak their dialect, then that's the cue that they will use Tagalog or English in communicating with you. In short, I though the people Cebu are proud of their city and the dialect that they have learned to speak since birth. Furthermore, Cebuanos take pride in their place in Philippine history. It was in Mactan that the Spanish conqueror Ferdinand Magellan tragically met his fate at the hands of a local chieftain, Lapu-lapu. Cebu was one of the islands in the Visayan region where Spain planted the seeds of Christianity. A small chapel located in the heart of Cebu city is known to house the original wooden cross that Magellan brought to the island.
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